Chapter Text
The cavalry was rendered useless within fifteen minutes.
Using their numbers they pushed back the copies and started gaining the upper hand in the battle, pushing the copies back towards the Titan…
And then the Titan spat out copies of Skarlet, Kotal, Rain, Reptile and Erron. And well, if the copies were bad before, having a Kotal sized one was really going to start killing them. The massive copy sure as shit knocked Nightwolf ass over tea kettles and the man ragged doll unconscious to the ground. Ferra and Torr thankfully bulldozed through to grab him and hauled him off to where the injured kombatants were licking their wounds. Honestly, if Torr had any secrets that he shared, they would have been super fucked.
They had to go back to fighting a hopeless and uphill battle.
And it was only getting worse and worse.
Cyrax and Sektor got taken out. They got trapped between two copies and said copies took and slammed the two together and tossed them. Ferra and Torr once again came to the rescue, Torr chucking the tiny lady full force and letting her crawl and hack and slash with her arm blades while the big creature carried the two to safety and came back to support Ferra.
The Kotal copy went after Erron, the man of course hesitating to shoot it, and got grabbed and would have gotten bounced had Kotal not spun around and flung his sword with all his might. The sword hit, cracked, and broke and Erron still got chucked. Kotal rushed after him and caught him after the second bounce and he thankfully got back up, but Kotal was down a sword.
Sindel’s voice finally shattered, a shrill and strained scream breaking off in a telltale sound of her voice breaking. She spat out blood and looked petrified at the Kuai Liang copy staring her down. Kitana came rushing to her mother’s aid, hacking and slashing with her war fans and letting Sindel quickly escape to join the downed fighters.
And if all that was not bad enough, Johnny was kept busy and away from the non-stop fighting that Hanzo and the Kenshi copy were embroiled in. The Kenshi copy kept howling cryptic shit at Hanzo and lashing out with a fury that the other copies seemingly lacked and Hanzo was quickly losing stamina in the face of the ruthless and unrelenting attack. And Kuai Liang was too busy fighting off other copies to go rushing to his side, panicked eyes always trying to keep track of Hanzo despite the increasing pressure.
What the fuck were they supposed to--
The Sonya copy gave up trying to murder Stryker and went after Johnny. And of course, even given their history, Johnny heistated long enough that the Sonya copy decked him hard in the jaw, rattling his teeth and putting the taste of blood in his mouth. And also putting him on his ass, looking up helplessly at the expressionless broken statue like creature holding his ex-wife’s face as it bore down on him heartless. He scrambled back on his hands and heels, kicking out when she got too close, trying to get the space to breath.
Johnny kicked at the Sonya copy as it started prowling forward with intent to harm, gritting his teeth despite the ache of his jaw. Where the fuck was--
A familiar roar ripped through the air and a blur of purple landed on the Sonya copy’s back, making the copy reel and relent in trying to kill him. Johnny shuffled away, enough distance to let him shakingly get to his feet, and turn to see who the hell saved him.
Whomever had saved him managed to get footholds and kicked with strength enough to send the copy skipping like a stone a decent distance away. And then a very familiar toothy smile was aimed at him as his hero stood fully.
“Hello, Cage,” Mileena purred, obviously stoked for the fighting.
“Uh… hi,” Johnny muttered.
“Hi Cage!” Tanya yelled as she dashed by, getting a running start and then fire kicking the shit out of the Raiden copy that was trying to join the frey and sending it flying back and landing on the Sonya copy. The copies colliding with a sound of boulders smashing together and fell into a confused pile on the ground. Tanya quickly stood, smirking as she dusted some soot from her pant leg.
“Hi,” Johnny said dumbly, “Is uh… Baraka joining us?”
Another familiar roar and said man dashed by, arm blades brandished as he IMMEDIATELY went for the Kotal copy, hacking and slashing with obvious anger.
“... Okay,” Johnny panted.
“Shall we dance, dearest Tanya?” Mileena purred to her wife.
“We shall,” Tanya smiled back
Mileena grabbed her wife’s arms and tossed her with strength, fire kick first, at the Raiden and Sonya copies and sent them flying again.
“Alright… more backup,” Johnny said, letting out a low whoosh of air and then falling back into battle.
Of course, seeing Mileena and Baraka and Tanya was bound to stir shit up. Fights paused as the three joined the battles, using their skills for control rather then trying the fruitless fight to cause damage. They kicked and threw copies back, giving failing fighters a chance to gather themselves before going back into it. And of course, there were extremely confused faces, but no one was given any chance to question it, the copies demanding attention before the dread words could come out. Kotal got a rather breathtaking kick to the gut from a Fujin copy kick because he had stared dumbfounded at Mileena as she grabbed the Jin copy away from Cassie and chucked it.
Ad it seemed that the joy that more back up brought was even shorter and less sweet than when Outworld came to their defense.
Because the Titan just spat out a Mileena, Tanya and Baraka copy.
And the Baraka copy stepped forward and took out Kabal, throwing out a kick that caught the man mid run and knocked him out and tossed him to the ground. Stryker got his husband the hell out of dodge while Ferra and Torr howled and kept five copies at bay. But Kabal had been rather profoundly helpful in the fight and now it all seemed lost and hopeless, even more so.
“We’re losing!” Johnny heard Shinnok shout, turning briefly to see Raiden helping the fallen Elder God to his feet.
“We have to keep this up!” Raiden yelled, probably trying to bolster everyone, but there was no hope for them now.
“We need to pull back, she’s killing us!”
“If we pull back, she consumes the realm!”
Johnny really needed to have a talk to lord vain jackass about his pessimism, especially in situations like they were in… If they lived.
God, he was so fucking tired.
Johnny energy kicked the Nightwolf copy away from Sonya, shaking from head to toe and her knuckles looking horrifying. Her eyes were glazing over with pain and exhaustion. She was panting like she had just been forced to run two marathons and was not even sweating anymore because she was overheated and dehydrated. Everyone looked like that. Everyone was far too tired. Far too exhausted.
He wanted to close his eyes.
He running tackled the Sindel copy away from Fujin, getting her to let loose her stone grip from the man’s long braid of hair. He hurried tied it up and when Johnny let the copy go, dashed forward and slammed his staff into the copy’s gut and sent her flying.
And never open them again.
There was the tange of electricity in the air, and not like any of Raiden’s powers. Johnny turned around and saw another portal forming. But who...
The portal opened and Hotaru came through. But the look on his face brought no joy.
“I am so sorry, Mr. Cage,” Hotaru said.
“What?” Johnny asked and then his face fell as the next person came out, someone that made Johnny’s blood run cold and his face fall.
Havik.
Havik who was swaggering through like nothing was wrong with him being here. With the things underneath his heart being there. Swinging around his morning star like nothing was wrong as he surveyed the warriors currently paused in their fighting to gape in horror at the man that was supposed to be dead being there. Raiden, most of all, looked petrified, eyes darting between Havik and Johnny with obvious mounting panic.
“Hellllooooooo~” Havik called out before stomping forward and swinging his morning star with all his might and clocking the Stryker copy hard enough to send the damned thing flying.
“W-why?” Johnny managed.
“It was the only way that they would let me come to Earthrealm’s aid,” Hotaru explained as he rushed to Johnny’s side and kicked a Cassie copy away from him. “That I keep watch over him.”
“But the visions…” Johnny muttered.
“If that dagger corrupts Havik, do not heed the siren’s call,” Hotaru said before joining the fight.
“What the hell is going?!” Sonya yelled. “Why is all of this coming true?!”
“I don’t…” Johnny rasped.
Everything that they had done.
None of it… none of it mattered? None of it? Not when fate had a cruel sick joke to play out? Some demented plan for the lot of them? None of it? None of it changed… it was hopeless…
Kai came to his rescue and kicked the Kabal copy away from him.
“Mr. Cage, we--”
Kai threw up his arms as the Kabal copy went after him. Johnny watched numbly.
What was the point anymore.
“Johnny! You need to start fighting!” Havik sang out as he came by and smashed his morning star into the abdomen of the Fujin copy that had tried to take advantage of Johnny’s mindless state.
“Havik… Havik… we’re losing,” Johnny mumbled.
“Hush, we’re… okay shut the fuck up, that attitude is totally unnessscary,” Havik snipped.
“Havik… I think… I think,” Johnny paused to try and lick his lips. His mouth was wollen, sticky with blood from before. “I think we need…”
Havik ran over and took another swing, taking out the Mileena copy and sending it flying through the air. When he was sure that she would take a second to get up, Havik twisted his head around like an owl to peer at him.
“Need what?”
There was absolute chaos going on around them as the outnumbered fighters gave everything that they had and the damned Titan ate it all up. And kept eating. Like a blackhole. And they were the only thing keeping it from currently consuming all the realms. All the innocent people out there. All the people that were just trying to live. His mom back on her little dusty farm. The Shirai-Ryu and Lin Kuei students waiting for their grandmasters to come home. Outworld currently waiting for its Kahn to come back. Orderrealm waiting to hear back from Hotaru and Havik. All those innocent people…
He was beyond tired. He was above and beyond all the shit that had been ripping his soul and mind to bloody shreds the past few months.
He was hollow. Empty. Everything had been carved out of him. Dead man walking.
“The nuclear option that will insure victory.”
Havik’s face twitched and suddenly the illusion was gone, Havik’s mauled lower face dripping black ink like blood down his body as he twisted around grotesquely to face Johnny.
Smoke got knocked out in the distance, Reptile just barely coming to his aid in time, holding off three copies with claws and fury and acid spit.
“It seems that this fate has been deemed the only course, then.”
Sonya stood back to back with Stryker as the two kept copies off of them, manic and scared and terrified for their lives.
Johnny stared empty eyed and frowning as the seventh Kamidogu stalked over to him, dripping black down Havik’s mauled face. Bottomless black pits stared at the deepest and darkest part of Johnny’s hollow being.
Kuai Liang gave up fighting copies and rushed to Hanzo’s side, sending the Kenshi copy away with ice and picking up Hanzo where he had fallen to the ground in sheer exhaustion. The two clung to each other as several copies advanced on them. Hopelessly outnumbered.
“All futures lead here. So this event? This one choice? This is key, godslayer. What you choose to do with this one choice, this one option? This shall decide all of our fates. You hold the lives of many in your hands, godslayer. We are counting on you!”
The seven Kamidogu reached into Havik’s chest, tearing and ripping flesh with ease and pulling free one of the corrupted Kamidogu, dripping rotted gore and corruption. It hissed evilly in the open air.
Raiden and Shinnok were back to back, fighting with obviously flagging energy. They had nothing but each other in this final battle and after thousands and thousands and thousands of years of hatred and rivalry after the poison dripped into Shinnok’s ear, maybe it was best to go down this way.
“Johnny!” Someone screamed.
“So…”
The seven Kamidogu stood before him and held out their sibling, the blade sitting in Havik’s palm and the hilt aimed so deliciously temptingly at Johnny.
Jin was trying to furiously beat copies with his bow, out of arrows, to try and keep them away from Cassie because she was out of bullets. They were screaming together, Cassie was sobbing, Jin was close to joining her. Fire danced through the air and Jin’s hands were pink from the heat.
“Wield my sibling, godslayer. Put yourself in debt with me. But save everyone. Wield my sibling, godslayer and hold true to the power that sings in your veins.”
“Johnny!” Someone cried.
Johnny’s ears were ringing. His mouth was dry and felt like slightly damp wool. His eyes were crusty, wanting to shut, but too tired and dried out to do so. Everything hurt and his mouth still tasted vaguely of copper from that bell ringing punch from before. His hands hurt, his knees hurt, his feet hurt. Old man pains. When did that happen?
What was the fucking point anymore.
His fingers reached out to touch the dagger. And then coiled around the too warm handle that was still sticky with Havik’s possessed blood.
And for a second… nothing happened.
And in the next.
Everything went wrong.
Johnny watched his own body move on its own, twirling the dagger around with a flourish to press the razor’s edge dangerously close to his own throat and heard his voice. Warped. Twisted. Dripping with malice.
No. More. Heroes.
